1. Field of the Invention
The invention herein pertains to a device for air to air cooling and heating the interior of a building by directing the flow of a refrigerant from a compressor through two heat exchangers which are commonly referred to as evaporators or condensers.
2. Description of the Prior Art and Objectives of the Invention
Engineers have known for many years that the evaporator and condenser in refrigeration equipment can be interchanged by reversing the direction of the refrigerant (freon) flow from the compressor. By reversing the flow direction either a heating or cooling function can be performed and such refrigeration equipment which is commonly referred to as a heat pump generally includes an outdoor coil which is positioned on the exterior of the building, an indoor coil positioned within the building and an expansion valve for reducing the pressure of the refrigerant. Both the indoor and outdoor coil function as a condenser or as an evaporator as determined by the mode of the heat pump.
Various types of heat pumps having reverse refrigerant cycles which may be either self contained or split (condenser and evaporator in separate locations) have met with moderate success in certain installations but have also had certain disadvantages. For example, corrosion can greatly shorten the life of a conventional outdoor coil, especially in areas which have a high salt air content. In addition, the outdoor coil is directly exposed to the extreme seasonal elements which may hamper its function in all modes of operation. Also, conventional heat pumps dehumidify the air and auxiliary equipment must be installed to maintain a suitable interior building humidity. Small residential structures including trailers or modular homes often have a high heat buildup in the attic area during summer months which require fans or other venting systems that create additional concerns and require additional energy expenditures.
With these and other disadvantages known to current heating and cooling systems, the present invention was conceived and one of its objectives is to provide a heat pump and method which is economical to use and provides satisfactory results and low maintenance and operating cost for the user.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a heat pump with both the "indoor coil" and "outdoor coil" within a single housing and in which the "indoor coil" and "outdoor coil" are adjacently mounted in separate compartments or chambers with the housing located entirely within the conditioned building structure.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a heat pump which delivers exterior air across the "outdoor coil" from the attic or crawl space of the building and which exhausts that same air from the heat pump housing to the exterior and requires no outside wall for installation, thereby reducing the wind chill and defrosting of the "outdoor coil", subsequently reducing the defrost cycles and without direct exposure of the "outdoor coil" to the sun's solar hear and outside ambient temperature.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to utilize the condensate collected from the evaporator to humidify the interior air during the heating cycle.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a condensate drain through the exterior exhaust duct to minimize installation costs.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide an air to air heat pump and method with 100% elimination of outside noise.
An additional advantage of the invention is to provide a heat pump and method which is readily adaptable to auxiliary heat sinks and sources without substantial alteration to the apparatus.
It is also an objective of the present invention to provide a heat pump having an economic operation with high indoor air quality as a result of a controllable mix of indoor and outdoor air.
Various other advantages and objectives of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as a more detailed presentation of the invention is set forth below.